Method for Production of a Wall of Gypsum Panels

ABSTRACT

To produce the wall ( 1 ), gypsum panels ( 2 ) are mounted adjacent to each other on a frame ( 4 ). Instead of forming a strip made of flat gypsum panels against the frame on site, use is made of two-dimensionally shaped profile strips ( 3 ) which are made of plastic foam. In contrast to conventional finishing strips, these profile strips ( 3 ) are mounted not on the gypsum panels ( 2 ) but on the frame ( 4 ), in particular with one edge adjacent to one edge of the gypsum panels. A first part ( 9 ) of the visible side of the profile strip ( 3 ) here lies in the extension of the surface formed by the gypsum panel ( 2 ) while a second part ( 10 ) of the visible side of the profile strip ( 3 ) protrudes from this surface. The profile strip ( 3 ) is chamfered at the edge adjacent to the gypsum panel ( 2 ) to form a chamfered edge zone ( 8 ). With the profile strip in mounted state, this chamfered edge zone forms a groove ( 11 ) that is filled with caulking agent ( 12 ). The new method allows, on production of a wall with gypsum panels, the integration of a strip in the gypsum panels in a simpler and less time-consuming manner.

The present invention relates to a method for the production of a wall, wherein gypsum panels are mounted adjacent to each other on a frame to form a surface that forms part of the visible side of the wall.

The term “wall” in this description means both vertical walls and horizontal ceilings.

In practice many interior walls (including ceilings) are made by constructing a frame of wood or metal slats and mounting gypsum panels thereon by screws. The frame can be a free-standing frame or a frame which comprises laths that are attached to an existing wall. The latter is the case in particular with so-called suspended ceilings.

As described in a number of patent publications including for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,269, U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,042 and DE-U-1 828 221, the gypsum panels are normally fitted with chamfered edge zones so that a groove is formed at the site of the joint between two adjacent panels. This groove is then filled with a caulking agent in order to achieve a seamless transition between the gypsum panels. To prevent the formation of cracks as far as possible, first a reinforcing mesh is applied to the grooves.

It is also known from practice and from a number of patent publications such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,587, U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,469, US 2003/00939970 and FR-B-1 588 075 for example to finish the angle between a vertical wall and a ceiling with a decor strip. If the wall and the ceiling are made of gypsum panels, these decor strips are therefore attached to the previously positioned gypsum panels, usually by means of adhesive such as silicon. Decorative pieces are also known which comprise a lighting source to create indirect lighting which can also be attached to a previously produced wall.

One disadvantage of such decor strips and decorative pieces is that they can only be used in the late stage of construction, in particular in a stage where the intervention of the architect is over so the architect has no further influence on the further finish of the walls. In particular such decor strips are usually fitted by interior decorators.

A further disadvantage of subsequent gluing of decor strips to the walls is that these decor strips have an edge that stands at a right angle to the surface of the wall, which prevents the decor strip from forming a smooth transition to the wall surface. When the architect however wants such a seamless transition, in practice it is known for him to place the strip against the frame of the wall. Here first the frame must be mounted according to the desired profile, whereupon pieces of moistened gypsum panel are formed and attached to the frame. Then gypsum plaster is spread over the pieces to give a visible side as uniform as possible.

One disadvantage of such a method is that it is complicated; it must be performed by specialist staff and takes a lot of time. The result is also dependent on the person who performs the work, and certainly with more complex forms it is almost impossible to achieve a completely uniform result. Another disadvantage is that gypsum panels, even if they are moistened, can only be bent to a limited extent such that sharp angles are excluded without the different panels having to be placed against each other. To avoid cracks, the joints formed must be covered with strips on the outside and these strips must be plastered in with the plaster. Strips which can be used here are described for example in US 2005/0028483, US 2004/0093816 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,732.

The object of the invention is to create a new method which allows, on production of a wall of gypsum panels, the integration of a strip in the gypsum panel wall in a simpler and less time-consuming manner.

The object is achieved by the method according to the invention characterised in that for production of the wall, as well as gypsum panels, furthermore at least one profile strip is used made of a plastic foam with a visible side which is intended to form a further part of the visible side of the wall and which is shaped at least two-dimensionally. The profile strip is then mounted on the frame with at least one edge against at least one of the gypsum panels so that the first part of the visible side of the profile strip is formed virtually in the extension of the surface formed by the gypsum panel and that a second part of the visible side of the profile strip protrudes from this surface. The profile strip is furthermore chamfered at the edge adjacent to the gypsum panel to form a chamfered edge zone which lies between said first part of the visible side of the profile strip and said edge and which, with the profile strip in mounted state, is laid behind said surface to form a groove which, after mounting of the profile strip, is filled with caulking agent.

As use is made of a preformed profile strip, here it is not necessary to perform the desired shaping during the positioning of the gypsum panels and profile strips. The profile strip can also be attached to the frame in the same way as the gypsum panels, for example simply by means of screws. The profile strip can therefore be installed in the same simple manner and at the same time as the positioning of the gypsum panels, by the same persons. Positioning of the profile strips is also simplified by the fact that they are made of plastic foam, whereby they have a relatively low weight, certainly in relation to the weight of the panels.

The finish of the seam or joint between the profile strip and panel can furthermore be produced in the same simple way as the finish of the joints or seams between the panels. Like the chamfered edge zone of the gypsum panels, the chamfered edge zone of the profile strip still forms a groove which can be filled with caulking agent. As the first part of the visible side of the profile strip lies in the surface of the adjacent gypsum panel, this caulking agent can simply be applied as a coating to achieve a seamless transition between the panel and the profile strip. After hardening of the caulking agent, it can then be simply sanded down. Preferably the groove between the profile strip and the adjacent gypsum panel is formed not only by the chamfered edge zone of the profile strip but also by a chamfered edge zone of the adjacent gypsum panel so that a reinforcing mesh can be applied to the groove. In this way crack formation can be prevented.

It must be noted that although clearly preferred, it is not absolutely essential that the profile strip initially already has a chamfered edge zone. It is still possible to apply such a chamfering before mounting the profile strip, for example by sanding down the edge zone of the profile strip. This is always done, preferably also for the cut ends when the profile strip is cut to length, whereby the chamfer on the cut end is lost.

In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the profile strip has two cut ends and the profile strip at each of the two cut ends has a further chamfered edge zone, whereby at least two profile strips are mounted on the frame with their cut ends abutting, so that the further chamfered edge zones of the abutting cut ends form a further groove which, after mounting of these profile strips, is filled with further caulking agent.

In a further preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, at least part of the visible side of the said profile strip and preferably almost the complete visible side of this profile strip is formed by a covering. This covering comprises preferably at least one of the materials selected from the group comprising paper, cardboard, glass fibre paper, glass fleece and glass matting, where the covering preferably comprises paper, cardboard and/or glass fibre paper.

By this choice of covering it is possible to prevent or at least minimise differences in texture or brilliance between the surface of the profile strip and the surface of the gypsum panel even after the complete wall has been painted. Preferably also the gypsum panels have a covering of the same material as the covering of the profile strip. The most commonly used gypsum panels, namely gypsum plasterboards, are in practice already fitted with a covering.

Further advantages and features of the invention will appear from the description below of some preferred embodiments of the method according to the invention. This description is however given merely as an example and is not intended to restrict the scope of protection as determined by the claims. The reference numerals given in the description relate to the enclosed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows in perspective a profile strip which is designed to be used in the method according to the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are respectively a cross-section along line II-II in FIG. 1 and a longitudinal section along line in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows on greater scale the part shown in FIG. 2 and marked F4;

FIG. 5 shows the joint which is achieved with the method according to the invention between the profile strip shown in the preceding figures and the adjacent gypsum plasterboard; and

FIGS. 6 to 10 show in cross-section different embodiments of profile strips with gypsum panels mounted on a frame according to the method of the invention.

The invention relates to a method for the production of a wall 1 starting from gypsum panels 2, more specifically gypsum plasterboards, and one or more profile strips 3. In general first a frame 4 is produced on which the gypsum panels 2 and profile strips 3 can be mounted. This frame 4 is usually made of slats, more specifically of wood or metal slats (solid slats or profile slats). The frame is usually a hollow frame 4 i.e. a frame that comprises hollow profile slats. The frame can either seal an opening or be attached to an existing wall. After positioning of the frame 4, the gypsum panels and profile strips 3 are mounted thereon. This is usually done with screws 5.

The gypsum panels 2 are formed by flat, usually rectangular panels which preferably have chamfered edge zones 6 along their four edges. The gypsum panels 2 are mounted adjacent to each other on the frame 4 to form a surface that forms part of the visible side of the wall 1. Another part of the visible side of the wall 1 is formed by the visible sides of the profile strips 3. These profile strips 3 are made of a plastic foam so they are relatively light and also less fragile or brittle than for example decor strips of plaster.

The profile strips are preformed and have a visible side which is shaped at least two-dimensionally. This means that their visible sides in cross-section do not appear straight but in contrast have a specific profile. If this profile is constant over the length of the profile strip (excluding any chamfered cut ends), the strip is shaped two-dimensionally. It is however possible that a secondary relief is provided on the profile strip whereby the profile of the strip is not constant over the length of the profile strip. A two-dimensionally shaped profile strip can therefore possibly by produced by an extrusion process. For a three-dimensionally shaped profile strip, the associated relief must either be applied subsequently to an extruded strip or the strip must be produced in a mould.

The profile strips 3 as shown in FIG. 4 are mounted with at least one edge 7 adjacent to one of the gypsum panels 2 on the frame 4. The expression “adjacent to” does not necessarily mean that the edge of the profile strip actually makes contact with the gypsum panel. Possibly a gap may be left which is subsequently filled with caulking agent or even with an auxiliary piece. The profile strips 3 are normally longitudinal and therefore have a length that is greater than their width. The edge 7 which is adjacent to the gypsum panel 2 in this case is a longitudinal edge of the profile strip 3.

The sequence of mounting the profile strips and gypsum panels is not relevant. This means that the profile strips 3 can be mounted on the frame 4 either before or after the gypsum panels 2. It is however important that the profile strip 3, at the edge 7 adjoining the gypsum panel 2, is chamfered to form a chamfered edge zone 8. The profile strip 3 is mounted on the frame 4 so that a first part 9 of the visible side of the profile strip 3 lies virtually in the extension of the surface of the front of the adjacent gypsum panel 2 and such that a second part 10 of this visible side protrudes from this surface (forward or backward). The chamfered edge zone 8 of the profile strip 3 therefore lies between the edge 7 of the profile strip 3 adjacent to the gypsum panel 2 and the first part 9 of its visible side, and furthermore in mounted state lies behind the surface formed by the front of the gypsum panel 2 so that at the site of the chamfered edge zone 6 a groove 11 is formed.

The gypsum panel 2 preferably with a chamfered edge zone 6 abuts the chamfered edge zone 8 of the profile strip 3. In this way the groove 11 at the point of the joint between the gypsum panel 2 and the profile strip 3 is formed not only by the chamfered edge zone 8 of the profile strip 3 but also by the chamfered edge zone 6 of the gypsum panel 2. So that the profile strip is easy to mount on the frame such that the first part 9 of the visible side thereof comes to lie in the extension of the surface of the adjacent plasterboard, the profile strip 3 and the gypsum panel 2 along the chamfered edge zones preferably have almost the same thickness D, D′, in particular one of the standard thicknesses of 6.5, 9.5, 12.5, 15 and 18 mm.

The groove 11 formed by the two chamfered edge zones 6 and 8 is intended to be filled with a caulking agent 12. Because the first part 9 of the visible side of the profile strip 3 lies in the extension of the surface of the front of the adjacent gypsum panel 2, the caulking agent 12 can simply be applied by coating and, after hardening, sanded down in order to achieve an almost seamless transition. The first part 9 of the visible side of the profile strip here preferably has a width of at least 2 cm, more preferably at least 4 cm and ideally at least 6 cm. As a caulking agent 12 a finishing plaster can be used, preferably a finishing plaster with a fine grain which can easily be sanded perfectly smooth.

If the edge zone 6 of the gypsum panel 2 is to be cut away to fit the plasterboard, preferably again a chamfered edge zone 6 is provided on the plasterboard 2, for example by sanding down the edge zone. To prevent cracking in the groove 11 formed by the two adjacent edge zones 6 and 8, always preferably a reinforcing mesh 13 is applied before the groove 11 is totally filled with caulking agent 12. To simplify the positioning of the reinforcing mesh 13, this is preferably glued in the groove 11. Also the chamfered edge zone 8 of the profile strip 3 preferably has a width B which is greater than 20 mm, and more preferably greater than 30 mm, for example a width of around 50 mm (which is the standard width B′ of a chamfered edge zone 6 of a gypsum plasterboard), so that a relatively wide piece of reinforcing mesh 13 can be applied in the groove. As the chamfered edge zones 6, 8 are covered with caulking agent, preferably therein at least a number of screws 5 are fitted that are used to attach the gypsum panels 2 and the profile strips 3.

The profile strip 3 shown in FIG. 1 is designed to lie with a longitudinal edge 7 adjacent to the gypsum panel 2. The profile strip 3 furthermore has two cut ends which are intended to abut a cut end of the same profile strip 3. The finish of the seams between the cut ends of the profile strip 3 is preferably produced in the same way as the finish of the seams between the profile strips 3 and the gypsum panels 2. For this the profile strips 3 on both cut ends have further chamfered edge zones 14 which, when two profile strips 3 are mounted on the frame with their cut ends abutting, form a further groove which is filled with further caulking agent. This caulking agent is normally the same as the caulking agent used to fill the grooves 11 between the profile strips 3 and the gypsum panels 2, and is therefore preferably also a finishing plaster, in particular a finishing plaster with a fine grain. Preferably an almost seamless transition is achieved, for example by sanding smooth the finishing plaster after hardening.

To avoid cracking, in the groove between the adjacent profile strips, a piece of reinforcing mesh is preferably also applied, in particular glued, whereupon the groove can be filled with the caulking agent. The chamfered edge zones 14 on the cut ends preferably also have a width greater than 20 mm, preferably greater than 30 mm, for example a width of around 50 mm.

The profile strips 3 are made of a plastic foam, in particular a hard plastic foam. As well as this plastic foam, the profile strips 3 can comprise a number of other materials. Their chamfered edge zones 8 which are to lie adjacent to the gypsum panel are for example made of the same material as the gypsum panel. Secondly reinforcing elements may be applied in the foam, in particular in the chamfered edge zones 8 where the profile strips are to be fastened by screws. The volume of the profile strips 3 preferably comprises plastic foam for the majority (for more than 50 volume %). To achieve a light profile strip, the plastic foam preferably has a mean density of less than 330 kg/m3, more preferably less than 270 kg/m3 and most preferably less than 210 kg/m3 or even less than 180 kg/m3. The mean density of the plastic foam is usually greater than 20 kg/m3 and preferably greater than 40 kg/m3.

A particularly suitable plastic foam is polyurethane foam. Polyurethane foam means a foam which has urethane bonds. Also it can have other bonds such as urea bonds. Polyurethane foam is in particular thermo-setting and can easily be obtained by foaming a polyurethane reaction mixture during curing with a blowing agent. The polyurethane reaction mixture usually comprises a polyol and an isocyanate component. The blowing agent can be a physical blowing agent but comprises normally a chemical blowing agent such as water.

In order to obtain a profile strip with a high quality surface even at low foam densities, preferably at least part of the visible side of the profile strip, preferably almost the complete visible side, is formed by a coating 15. The profile strip shown in the figures has a coating 15 not only on its visible side but also on its back. The coating 15 is for example made of paper, cardboard, or glass fibre paper, but can also for example be a glass fleece or glass matting. Preferably the coating is made of the same material as the coating of the gypsum panels, for example also of paper, cardboard or glass fibre paper. In this way after painting the wall, structural or brilliance differences between the gypsum panels and the profile strips can be minimised or even prevented completely.

To make the profile strip, the covering can be laid in a mould and sucked against the wall of the mould. Then the polyurethane reaction mixture is applied to the covering in the mould, whereupon the mould is closed and the reaction mixture can foam in the mould. Where applicable the polyurethane reaction mixture can also be injected into the closed mould after closure of the mould.

The profile strips 3 can be used in a number of different applications. A first application is illustrated in FIG. 6. In this application a lighting element 16 is installed in the space which is usually present behind the profile strip. This lighting element 16 is not mounted on the profile strip itself but on the frame 4, in particular on a support 17 of the frame 4 which supports a support part 18 of the profile strip 3. Also the profile strip 3 shown in FIG. 6 is supported against the frame 4 only with a support part 19 located along the longitudinal edge 7 (and located partly behind the chamfered edge zone 8). The longitudinal edge 7 of the profile strip 3, as described above, is laid adjacent to the gypsum panel 2. The opposite longitudinal edge 20 of the profile strip 3 is a free edge which protrudes freely when the profile strip 3 is in the mounted state. In this way an opening is formed between this free edge 20 and the frame 4 through which can pass the light from the lighting element 16, thus creating indirect lighting.

The embodiment given in FIG. 7 differs from that in FIG. 6 in that the gypsum panel 2 not only forms a first wall part under the profile strip 3 but furthermore a second wall part above the profile strip 3 and located in the extension of the first wall part. The longitudinal edge 20 of the profile strip here now abuts the second wall part to form a closed space behind the profile strip 3. This hollow space 21 may be used to accommodate pipes or cables.

The embodiment in FIG. 8 is almost identical to that in FIG. 7 with the difference that between the profile strip 3 and the top wall part a seamless transition is achieved, which is important if this transition is visible. For this the profile strip 3 also has a chamfered edge zone 22 along the second long edge 20, with which zone the profile strip 3 adjoins the gypsum panel 2 of the top wall part. In this way a second groove 23 is formed which, in the same way as the groove 11 below the profile strip 3, can be filled with caulking agent (+reinforcing mesh).

FIG. 9 shows an application of a profile strip 3 to a ceiling where the profile strip, like the profile strip in FIG. 8, has a chamfered edge zone on both long edges. In the embodiment in FIG. 9 the second wall part (in this case a ceiling part) however forms a surface which lies behind the surface of the first wall part. The profile strip shown in FIG. 9 is thus particularly suitable for producing a lowered ceiling part.

FIG. 10 finally shows a further application in which use is made of a profile strip with a chamfered edge zone along both long edges. In this case this profile strip is used to create the angle between a first vertical wall part (wall) and a second horizontal wall part (ceiling). Because the profile strip has a chamfered edge zone along both long edges, in this application a seamless transition can be achieved with both the gypsum panels of the wall and the gypsum panels of the ceiling.

It is clear from the above that the invention is in no way restricted to the example described and the embodiments shown in the figures. The profile strip described can for example be implemented in various forms and dimensions without leaving the scope of the invention. 

1. Method for production of a wall (1) with a visible side wherein gypsum panels (2) are mounted adjacent to each other on a frame (4) to form a surface that forms part of the visible side of the wall (1), characterised in that furthermore at least one profile strip (3) made from a plastic foam is used with a visible side that is intended to form a further part of the visible side of the wall (1) and which is shaped at least two-dimensionally, which profile strip (3) is mounted on the frame (4) with at least one edge (7) adjacent to least one of the said gypsum panels (2) so that a first part (9) of the visible side of the profile strip (3) lies almost in the extension of the said surface and such that a second part (10) of this visible side protrudes from the said surface, wherein at said edge (7) the profile strip (3) is chamfered to form a chamfered edge zone (8) which lies between said first part (9) of the visible side of the profile strip (3) and said edge (7) and which, with the profile strip (3) in mounted state, lies behind said surface to form a groove (11) which, after mounting of the profile strip (3), is filled with caulking agent (12).
 2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that said profile strip (3) is fastened to the frame (4) with screws (5), wherein preferably at least a number of said screws (5) are housed in said chamfered edge zone (8).
 3. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the frame (4) is a hollow frame on which the gypsum panels (2) and the profile strip (3) are mounted.
 4. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the gypsum panel (2) abutted by the profile strip (3) has at least one chamfered edge zone (6) which, with the profile strip (3) in mounted state, lies adjacent to the chamfered edge zone (8) of the profile strip (3) so that said groove (11) is formed by both chamfered edge zones (6, 8), where in this groove (11) a reinforcing mesh (13) is applied, in particular glued, whereupon the groove (11) is filled with caulking agent (12).
 5. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the chamfered edge zone (8) of the profile strip (3) has a width (B) that is greater than 20 mm, preferably greater than 30 mm, where the width (B) of this chamfered edge zone (8) more preferably is around 50 mm.
 6. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that with said caulking agent (12) an almost seamless transition is produced between the profile strip (3) and the adjacent gypsum panel (2), where as caulking agent (12) preferably a finishing plaster is used.
 7. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that said edge (7) is a longitudinal edge of a profile strip (3) and that the profile strip (3) has two cut ends and at each of these two cut ends is a further chamfered edge zone (14), where at least two profile strips (3) are mounted with their cut ends abutting on the frame (4) so that the further chamfered edge zones (14) of the abutting cut ends form a further groove which, after mounting of these profile strips (3), is filled with further caulking agent.
 8. Method according to claim 7, characterised in that in said further groove a reinforcing mesh is applied, in particular glued, after which the further groove is filled with further caulking agent.
 9. Method according to claim 7, characterised in that the further chamfered edge zones (14) of the profile strip (3) have a width that is greater than 20 mm, preferably greater than 30 mm, where the width of these chamfered edge zones (14) more preferably is around 50 mm.
 10. Method according to claim 7, characterised in that with said further caulking agent an almost seamless transition is produced between the two profile strips (3) where as further caulking agent preferably a finishing plaster is used.
 11. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that at least part of the visible side of said profile strip (3) and preferably almost the complete visible side of this profile strip (3) is formed by a covering (15).
 12. Method according to claim 11, characterised in that the covering (15) comprises at least one of the materials selected from the group comprising paper, cardboard, glass fibre paper, glass fleece and glass matting, wherein the covering (15) preferably comprises paper, cardboard and/or glass fibre paper.
 13. Method according to claim 11, characterised in that the gypsum panels (2) to be mounted on the frame (4) are fitted with a covering made of the same material as the covering (15) of the profile strip (3).
 14. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that in the mounted state of the profile strip (3), behind this profile strip (3) is a space in which a lighting element (16) can be accommodated.
 15. Method according to claim 14, characterised in that the profile strip (3) against said edge (7) has a further edge (20) which in the mounted state of the profile strip (3) projects freely to form an opening for the passage of light from said lighting element (16) to create indirect lighting.
 16. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that said edge (7) is a first long edge of the profile strip (3) and that the profile strip (3) has a second long edge (20), where a first wall part is produced with the said gypsum panels (2) and a second wall part is produced with further gypsum panels (2), and wherein the profile strip (3) with said second long edge (20) is mounted adjacent to at least one of said further gypsum panels (2) on the frame (4).
 17. Method according to claim 16, characterised in that the profile strip (3) along the second long edge (20) has a second chamfered edge zone (22), whereby at the site of the second chamfered edge zone (22), with the profile strip (3) in the mounted state, a second groove (23) is formed which, after mounting of the profile strip, is filled with caulking agent (12).
 18. Method according to claim 16, characterised in that the second wall part forms a surface which lies behind the surface formed by the first wall part.
 19. Method according to claim 16, characterised in that second wall part lies approximately in the extension of said first wall part.
 20. Method according to claim 16, characterised in that said second wall part forms an angle with said first wall part, wherein said first wall part is preferably a vertical wall and said second wall part a ceiling.
 21. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that said profile strip (3) is made of a polyurethane foam, in particular a thermo-setting polyurethane foam.
 22. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the plastic foam from which the profile strip (3) is made, has a mean density that is less than 330 kg/m3, preferably less than 270 kg/m3, more preferably less than 220 kg/m3 and in particular less than 180 kg/m3, where the mean density of this plastic foam is preferably greater than 20 kg/m3, more preferably greater than 40 kg/m3.
 23. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the profile strip (3) at the site of said first part (9) has a thickness (D) which is approximately equal to the thickness (D′) of the gypsum panels (2), which thickness (D) is in particular around 6.5, 9.5, 12.5, 15 or 18 mm. 